Tag: Nuno Bettencourt

Hi Everyone… I know it’s been a while since we have given any updates… I have been touring non-stop for the last few years and finally have some time off! But I wanted to fill you in on everything Extreme. We had a great time performing Pornograffitti in Japan. The shows were very special. It felt good to play some of the deep cuts. We also had a chance to play some new markets this summer such as Russia and China. We didn’t know what to expect but the fans were incredible! Don’t worry Brazil… we did not forget about you…. we are still planning on coming there soon and are just working out the details with the promoter. Lastly, I have been working on a lot of new material for Extreme and we are looking at our schedules now, so hopefully we can start working on the new Extreme record before the end of the year. We will fill you in as things progress. Until than…

Boston’s very own Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt of multi-platinum recording band EXTREME are performing the National Anthem this Saturday, May 26th at 7:00 PM at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays game.

Most recently, in the celebration of Fenway Park’s centennial, Gary Cherone, Nuno Bettencourt and Daniel Bard joined forces and recorded a version of the song “Let The Good Times Roll” available on the 100 Year Anniversary Red Sox Commemorative album. A portion of proceeds benefits the Red Sox Foundation.

Bettencourt will also be celebrating his special fan Darren Parker, who has self-proclaimed himself as one of Nuno’s biggest fans. The band and fans know him as NunoFreak. Darren has an inoperable brain tumor rendering him unable to work as his medical bills are mounting.

A fundraiser is being held on June 23 at Sleep’s Bar & Grill in Bluffs, IL which will include an auction, donations and freewill. Darren’s dream was to have Nuno show up but unfortunately he will be in London on tour with Rihanna. Bettencourt came up with a solution to help.

Last Friday, Nuno surprised Darren by calling him on the phone and invited him to be his special guest with Gary for the Red Sox game. This generous offer includes Darren to be on the field when they perform the National Anthem. After the Anthem, Nuno will gift him one of his Washburn Nuno Bettencourt N4 guitars so Darren can auction it on eBay to help cover his medical expenses. The Red Sox has kindly agreed to let Darren come in the afternoon to watch sound-check and then stay in the park to watch batting practice. “We are making this real special for him.” states Bettencourt. After the phone call with Nuno, Darren sent management an email saying that he “Literally had to pull the car over on the side of the road for 20 minutes to just process the conversation he just had with Nuno.”

Here is Darren’s website to learn more about his situation and the fundraiser.

Gary Cherone (lead vocals) and Nuno Bettencourt (guitar) are the driving force behind the iconic Boston rock band Extreme. To date, the Grammy-nominated EXTREME have released six albums, plus a greatest hits set—selling over 10 million records worldwide. They also achieved a Billboard #1 hit single, “More Than Words”—from their 1990 multi-platinum album Pornograffitti and a Top Five hit with “Hole Hearted.” Although these two acoustic hits brought the band great mainstream success, the band’s trademark sound is a mix of hard rock funk—fueled by guitar virtuoso Nuno Bettencourt’s signature style and Gary Cherone’s resonant vocals and socially conscious lyrics.

PUSHKING has released The World As We Love It, the Russian band’s star-studded new album. The World As We Love It also includes guest appearances from Paul Stanley (Kiss), Steve Vai, Udo Dirkschneider (Accept), Steve Lukather (Toto), Alice Cooper, Billy F. Gibbons (ZZ Top) among many others.

Hard Rock Hideout has three copies of The World As We Love It to giveaway!

On February 1st, PUSHKING will be releasing The World As We Love It, the Russian band’s star-studded new album. The first video from the project, “It’ll Be OK,” also features ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons and Extreme axeman Nuno Bettencourt. The Fabrizio Grossi directed clip finds Pushking vocalist Konstantin “Koha” Shustarev trading verses with Gibbons, while Bettencourt lays down one of his signature guitar solos towards the end of the track. The World As We Love It also includes guest appearances from Paul Stanley (Kiss), Steve Vai, Udo Dirkschneider (Accept), Steve Lukather (Toto), among many others. The World As We Love It will be out 2/1 via Armoury Records Check out the video for “It’ll Be OK” (featuring Billy F. Gibbons and Nuno Bettencourt) below:

Saudades de Rock available August 12th on Open E Records
This summer, EXTREME will release Saudades de Rock (pronounced “sow-dodge”),
their first studio album in thirteen years which will coincide with their first
world tour in over twelve years. Saudades de Rock will be released on August 12th
on Open E Records and distributed by Fontana.

The multi-platinum, Boston-bred band’s 2008 ‘TAKE US ALIVE’ world tour gets
underway on July 29th at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and will be anchored
by a hometown gig two days later at the Bank of America Pavilion. In advance of
the tour, Extreme will be a co-headliner on July 11th at the five day Rocklahoma
Festival in Pryor, OK. See all current dates below.

The iconic rock foursome – vocalist Gary Cherone, guitarist Nuno Bettencourt,
bassist Pat Badger and new drummer Kevin Figueiredo – recorded their fifth
studio offering at NRG Studios in Los Angeles with Bettencourt at the helm as
producer and mixer. Saudades de Rock boasts 13 tracks, including the infectious
roar of “Star,” the groove-laden, swagger of “King Of The Ladies”, a raw funk
rock anthem called “Learn To Love”, and the expressive ballad “Ghost.”

“’Saudades’ was always a beautiful word to me,” Bettencourt explains about the
Portuguese album moniker. “It expresses a longing; an underlying sadness for
something or someone that’s been missing in your life, and never quite sure if
it will ever return. In this case, for us, it’s Rock and Roll. Saudades de
Rock.”

Gary Cherone adds, “I like how it expresses that longing we’ve been feeling to
play for our fans and be together again.”

To date, the Grammy-nominated EXTREME has released four albums, plus a greatest
hits set—selling over 10 million records worldwide. On the strength of multiple
world tours, they also achieved a #1 hit single, “More Than Words”—from their
1990 multi-platinum album Extreme II: Pornograffitti—on the Billboard Hot 100,
which they followed with the Top Five “Hole Hearted.” Although these two
acoustic hits brought the band great mainstream success, it overshadowed the
band’s trademark sound: a mix of hard rock funk in the spirit and style of their
predecessors Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Queen and Van Halen—fueled by
BETTENCOURT’s signature guitar flights and CHERONE’s resonant vocals—and matched
with a social consciousness in their lyrics.

OPEN E RECORDS is a new label that is distributed by Fontana. A portion of Open
E Records profits will be donated to Music Drives Us, a foundation created as a
way to support music in New England. The Foundation also gives scholarship money
for individuals who desire to continue their musical education.www.musicdrivesus.com.

EXTREME will make their much-anticipated return to the stage this summer in support of Saudades de Rock (pronounced “sow-dodge”), their first studio album in 13 years. The multi-platinum, Boston-bred band’s 2008 Take Us Alive world tour gets underway on July 29th at The Chance in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and will be anchored by a hometown gig two days later at the Bank of America Pavilion. In advance of the tour, Extreme will be a co-headliner on July 11th at the five day Rocklahoma Festival in Pryor, OK.

Information on the groundbreaking new album Saudades de Rock— which was produced by Bettencourt at L.A.’s NRG studios and is planned for release to coincide with the tour–is forthcoming. Fans can expect the same unwavering songcraft and diverse musical approach that made Extreme legendary. Simply put, Extreme’s fifth studio offering – which boasts the infectious roar of ‘Star’, the groove-laden swagger of ‘King’, a raw funk rock anthem called ‘Learn To Love’, and the expressive ballad ‘Ghost’ – just may be its finest hour yet.

As excited as the members of Extreme are by their latest musical accomplishment, they can’t wait to take it to the stage.

“As much as we enjoy recording, for me, I’ve always loved playing live for the fans,” Cherone says. “We can’t wait to get out there and play this music.”

“We wanted to record as much of the new album as possible live in the studio,” Bettencourt adds. “And because of it, these songs will translate easily to the stage. We’re really looking forward to getting out on tour, putting on a show. That’s really where the band shines.”

“We always knew Extreme was special,” the guitarist says of the completion of Extreme’s long-awaited fifth album. “We always knew it was a matter of time.”

The Grammy-nominated Extreme have released four studio albums to date, plus a greatest hits set. Selling over 10 million records worldwide on the strength of multiple world tours, the group achieved a 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1991 with ‘More Than Words‘. Culled from their 1990 multi-platinum album, Extreme II: Pornograffitti, the disc also produced the Top 5 hit ‘Hole Hearted’.

Although these two acoustic hits brought the band great mainstream success, they overshadowed the band’s trademark sound: a mix of hard rock funk in the spirit and style of their predecessors in LED ZEPPELIN, AEROSMITH, QUEEN and VAN HALEN. Fueled by Bettencourt’s signature guitar flights and Cherone’s resonant vocals, the band’s socially conscious lyrics set them apart from their peers. In 1992, the band was asked by Queen’s Brian May to perform at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert. As the world watched, the band earned considerable credibility within and beyond the hard rock fraternity.